Devon Energy, EQT Stocks Rise On Bernstein Upgrade: Retail Shows Approval

Devon Energy (DVN) and EQT Corp (EQT) rose on Wednesday after Bernstein upgraded both stocks to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ on growth potential in U.S. gas.

According to TheFly, Bernstein set a price target of $73 for EQT, implying a 44% upside to the stock’s last close. EQT shares hit more than a decade-high.

The Bernstein analyst set a price target of $45 for Devon, implying a 21% upside to the stock’s closing price on Tuesday.

As per TheFly, Bernstein holds a “strong conviction” in a new U.S. gas landscape at higher mid-cycle prices with significant growth driven by liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

According to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, the United States has emerged as the top LNG exporter, and several LNG plants are expected to come online later this decade.

Bernstein notes that both Devon and EQT are slated to benefit from the rise in power demand driven by artificial intelligence data centers.

Following the upgrade, optimism around the companies was visible on Stocktwits.

Retail sentiment about EQT jumped to the ‘extremely bullish’ (83/100) zone from ‘bullish’(64/100) a day ago, while retail chatter rose to ‘high.’

Retail remained similarly upbeat on Devon, with sentiment soaring to the ‘extremely bullish’ (95/100) zone from ‘bullish’(64/100) a day ago and chatter rising to ‘extremely high.’

Users quickly set their price targets, with one person hoping that Devon could touch $80 by the end of 2024.

EQT and Devon are scheduled to report their fourth-quarter results on Feb. 18.

Over the past year, EQT shares have gained 44%, while Devon has lost 7.6%.

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